Airbrushes have generally been available in two basic forms, gravity fed and siphon fed. Further, within these forms, a plethora of sizes of airbrushes are also available.
A gravity fed airbrush generally has a receptacle or cup in which relatively small amounts of paint can be placed. The receptacle can generally be located anywhere above the point at which paint exits the airbrush and works by paint dripping into the airbrush. A siphon fed airbrush generally has a larger receptacle or paint jar attached below the paint exit point and generally has a tube connecting the paint jar with the airbrush. The passage of air over the end of the tube causes a negative pressure in the tube, which coupled with the positive pressure in the paint jar, causes the paint to be literally sucked, or siphoned, from the paint jar into the airbrush.
Gravity fed and siphoning airbrushes are generally used for different tasks. If a paint job requires a great deal of paint, the user generally must use a siphon fed airbrush as it allows for more paint to be available. If greater painting precision is desired, the user will generally choose a gravity fed airbrush as the lighter weight paint receptacle and the availability of all of the air to push paint, rather than sucking paint, allows more precise movements and accuracy. As a result of these limited uses of each type of airbrush, the user must buy both types of airbrushes if he wishes to do large and small jobs. In addition, if the user has need of different sizes of airbrushes, he must then buy the different sizes in both gravity and siphoning types. The result is a large collection of different size and type airbrushes which must be prepared and then cleaned.
We have invented a novel type of airbrush that allows the use of one airbrush as both a gravity fed and siphon fed airbrush. In this way, only half as many airbrushes need be bought, prepared, used and cleaned to make a complete set. Further, if the user is doing a large job and then wishes to work with greater accuracy, the airbrush of the present invention may be easily converted from a siphoning airbrush to a gravity fed airbrush and vice versa.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an airbrush that can be selectively fed paint through a siphon or by gravity.
It is a further object of the present invention to allow a wide variety of painting options with half the number of ordinary airbrushes.
It is a further object of the present invention to allow great accuracy, great paint capacity and greater flexibility with a single airbrush.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent as the description proceeds.